1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of vehicles' engines, and more specifically, the present invention is directed to servicing engines.
2. Background
Engine manufacturers highly recommend that engine cooling systems be serviced every 15,000 to 30,000 miles. Lack of proper service can cause engine problems due to the fact that old coolant in the vehicle's radiator system may no longer protect against rust or acids that can lead to a breakdown of the metal and aluminum parts in the engine. Periodic service intervals are recommended to protect the engine against overheating that can be caused by a breakdown of the coolant's protective properties.
To this end, automobile service stations utilize various systems and methods to replace old coolant in the radiator system with new coolant in accordance with the manufacturers' recommendation. Conventional systems, however, suffer from many problems. To mention a few, conventional systems cause coolant drainage and are environmentally hazardous. To prevent coolant drainage, service operators must place a pan under the vehicle to avoid coolant spill. Moreover, the radiator pressure cannot be released prior to removing the radiator cap which can place service operators in danger.
Furthermore, conventional systems require constant operator attention. For example, at the end of the coolant exchange, the operation must end immediately, otherwise the vehicle's coolant continues to be drained, and as a result, the vehicle's engine can overheat and be damaged. Even more, at the completion of the coolant exchange, the conventional systems require the operator to add more coolant manually in order to adjust the level of coolant in the radiator system. To that end, the operator must either prepare a mixture of coolant and water, or prior to starting the coolant exchange process, save some in a separate container. At the end of the coolant exchange, the additional coolant must either be deposited in the service system tank or be added to the radiator system by the operator. Indeed, such methods are extremely labor intensive, unsafe and time consuming.
As another example of the shortcomings, in the existing systems, fluid flow control is achieved via a pressure switch that turns off the fluid flow completely when the system pressure reaches a predetermined level by stopping the system and/or engine and then restarting the system and/or engine when the system pressure falls below a second level. The on-to-off transitions are greatly harmful to the service system and the vehicle's engine.
Accordingly, an intense need exists for apparatus and method for servicing engine cooling systems that can safely and efficiently solve the existing problems in the art.
Further disadvantages of the related art will become apparent to one skilled in the art through comparison of the drawings and specification which follow.